Exhibition updates

The launch of our new website in December 2014 allows a perfect digital platform to showcase the Annual Exhibitions of the Federation of British Artists Societies.

Over 1,800 works from the FBA Annual Exhibitions have been uploaded to mallgalleries.org.uk and viewed almost 40,000 time throughout 2015.

Listed below from oneto ten are the most popular works from the Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition based on the number of unique page visits the work received. Congratulations to Sheena Bevis-White for having the most popular work online from the RSMA Annual Exhibition 2015.

39 x 49 cm

Jamal Akib, Pull 2

Oil

67 x 126 cm

Peter Barker RSMA, November Midday Mousehole

Oil

54 x 69 cm

Sophi Beharrell, Turbulent Times

Acrylic

32 x 43 cm

Rob Adams, Still Evening Newport

Watercolour

22 x 30 cm

Fred Beckett RSMA FROI Hon RI Hon RBA, The Old Basin, Honfleur

Oil

42 x 52 cm

Lorraine Abraham RSMA, Repair and Renovation, Reykjavik Harbour

Watercolour

46 x 51 cm

Jamal Akib, Solo

Oil

67 x 126 cm

Call for Entries

The RSMA seeks submissions of painting and sculpture inspired by the sea and the marine environment, including harbours and shorelines, traditional craft and contemporary shipping, creeps, beaches and wildlife. The Call for Entries open on Monday 21 March 2016.

The launch of our new website in December 2014 allows a perfect digital platform to showcase the Annual Exhibitions of the Federation of British Artists Societies.

Over 1,800 works from the FBA Annual Exhibitions have been uploaded to mallgalleries.org.uk and viewed almost 40,000 time throughout 2015.

Listed below from one to ten are the most popular works from the New English Art Club Annual Open Exhibition based on the number of unique page visits the work received. Congratulations to Peter Clossick NEAC for having the most popular work online from the NEAC Annual Open Exhibition 2015.

The launch of our new website in December 2014 allows a perfect digital platform to showcase the Annual Exhibitions of the Federation of British Artists Societies.

Over 1,800 works from the FBA Annual Exhibitions have been uploaded to mallgalleries.org.uk and viewed almost 40,000 time throughout 2015.

Listed below from one to ten are the most popular works from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition based on the number of unique page visits the work received. Congratulations to Jennifer Anderson for having the most popular portrait online for the RP Annual Exhibition 2015.

The launch of our new website in December 2014 allows a perfect digital platform to showcase the Annual Exhibitions of the Federation of British Artists Societies.

Over 1,800 works from the FBA Annual Exhibitions have been uploaded to mallgalleries.org.uk and viewed almost 40,000 time throughout 2015.

Listed below from one to ten are the most popular works from the Royal Society of British Artists based on the number of unique page visits the work received. Congratulations to Sarah Woolfenden for having the most popular work online in the RBA Annual Exhibition 2015.

80 x 102

Image credit

The Royal Society of Oil Painters Prize winners were announced at the Private View on the 1st December.

Opening the exhibition Ian Cryer, President of the ROI said that "the Institute is determined to maintain and raise the standards of work on show. The feeling is that this year we have again exceeded previous years in this regard."

Below are the Prize Winning works from the 123rd Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

L. Cornelissen & Son Prize

Roger Dellar ROI, The Cocktail Bar, RAC

Frank Herring Easel Award

David Walker, From Lambeth Bridge

The Dry Red Press

Linda Alexander AROI, Still Life with Anemones

The Alan Gourley Memorial Award

Christopher Keays ROI, Holly Hill Hampstead

The DAS Award

Peter Graham ROI, Age of Elegance

The Artist Magazine Award

Richard Combes ROI, Paint Brush

The Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award

Clive Burnell, Horseshoe

The Le Clerc Fowle Medal

Michael Weller, February Pears

Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award (Third Prize)

Harriet Spratt, Ben

Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award (Second Prize)

Andrew Farmer, Self Portrait

Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award (First Prize)

Bernadett Timko, Self Portrait

Call for Entries

Founded in 1882, the ROI seeks works in oils and is the only national art society devoted exclusively to oil painting. The call for entries open on 23 May 2016.

Second Prize

£600 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials

Andrew Farmer, Self Portrait

Oil, 60 x 45 cm £650

Third Prize

£400 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials

Harriet Spratt, Ben

Oil, 60 x 50 cm £1,300

Above are just some of the works on display in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition, the only major British Art Society that promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard exclusively in Oils.

A range of ROI members, non-member exhibitors and young artists showcase the medium of oil painting in surprising variations of style and subject at the forthcoming Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, including…

Still Life

Roy Freer spends his days in his studio, considering and resolving studies of plants, pots and pans, bottles, fruit and vegetables that crowd out his shelves on all sides, as seen in Assortment. Roy writes about the process, that, ‘In my mind’s eye I set about to resolve how these objects may be seen in differing relationships and intensities and be brought together to my satisfaction – I ask, what more can one need?’.

Roy Freer ROI, Assortment

Meanwhile other still life paintings on show include Peter Graham’s Tulips in a Blue Jug, in which relations of tone and colour lead the eye into the composition and to the arrangement’s centerpiece, a jug of white tulips - a nod to the painter William Nicholson (1872-1949); and more unusually, in comical contrast to her still lifes featuring strawberries and seashells, bottles and bowls, Lucy McKie’s must-see Toy Fire Engine on Cardboard Box.

Lucy McKie ROI, Toy Fire Engine on Cardboard Box

Landscapes

Also well accounted for in the show are a variety of landscapes, including this year’s exhibition catalogue cover, Malcolm Ashman’s Dartmoor Series, September 2015. Alongside which John McComb’s Winter Morning Sunlight, River Tame continues McCombs’s long-standing aim to make a complete visual record of the village of Delph and the surrounding Pennine landscape in all its seasons before development spoils the character of the area.

John McCombs ROI RBA, Winter Morning Sunlight, River Tame

Cityscapes

From the countryside to the country’s capital city, several exhibits capture London’s famous landmarks, such as Somerset Houseas seen by Roger Dellar, and a short walk along The Thames from there, Peter Wileman’s London Eye and “The Tattershall Castle”. While Adebanji Alade and Bill Dean (in Colours, Rain & Reflections, Cannon Street II and Reflections in The Strand, respectively) represent another of the city’s familiar sights: rainy days, specifically the reflections from sheets of water upon the city’s streets. Continuing the theme of cities ‘under water’, Brian Ryder has painted a series of Venetian reflections in water, including Venetian Reflection 2 - Palazzo, finished in his studio following a recent visit to Venice. Whereas Alice Hall has painted the same city from another perspective, looking upwards to the skies onto scaffolding around San Marco. While from San Marco to San Francisco, Ken Howard (so well known for his paintings of Venice, some of which feature in this exhibition) has painted a view off the coast of the northern Californian city, complete with boats and blue sky.

Ken Howard FROI OBE RA PPNEAC RBA RSBA RWA RWS, San Francisco

Portraits

Pictures of people populate the exhibition, too: many by members, of members, such as Tim Benson’s Self Portrait by Lamplight and Roger Ferrin’s portrait of fellow exhibitor and member, Tony Merrick. Not forgetting Susan Bower’s portrait of Mr Cooper Tibbles - even if Mr Cooper is in fact the artist’s cat (and in fact a “she”), pictured wearing a protective coat from the vet in Midnight Cat.

Perfectly summing up the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, though, is Tony Merrick’s Night Studio, Reflections, which depicts the environment in which many of the works on display have taken shape – from direct observation of the subject, paintbrushes to hand, easel at the ready, inspiration and imagination aplenty.

Tony Merrick ROI, Night Studio Reflections

Above are just some of the works on display in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition, the only major British Art Society that promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard exclusively in Oils.

Image credit

Following his talk in the Learning Centre during the first week of The Natural Eye 2015 exhibition, we spoke to Society of Wildlife Artist Darren Rees about his one month journey aboard the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Vessel HMS Protector travelling from the South Atlantic to the Antarctic Peninsula.

After applying in 2014 to become an Artist in Residence with Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute, Darren Rees SWLA spent over a month in early 2015 aboard the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol vessel HMS Protector travelling from the South Atlantic to the Antarctic Peninsula. Previous Artists in Residence include Dafila Scott SWLA and Emma Stibbon RA.

There were many highlights to Darren’s adventure however the first morning at the Antarctic Peninsula was a stand out. They had to stop engines overnight to unclog the ship’s filters from too much krill (tiny crustaceans). When they woke they were in flat calm waters with a wrap around landscape of snowy peaks, glaciers and icebergs and humpback whales popping up everywhere. He estimated over one hundred.

Darren Rees, Matterhorn

As well as Humpbacks, Minke, Fin, Sei and Blue Whales, Darren saw a group of Killer Whales so he had a good list of sea mammals. However, Darren would have liked to have seen some Emperor Penguins (the largest) but sadly was unable to see any during his journey.

Throughout his journey, that started at the Falkland Islands, Darren travelled to many islands within and surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. These islands include the Port Lockroy, Rothera (Adelaide Island), Horseshoe, Stonington and Deception Islands.

Darren Rees, First Berg

When he wasn’t visiting islands, Darren could be found in the crow’s nest of the ship where he could see all around him - his “moving studio” as he described it. If he wasn’t at the crow’s nest he was under the helideck painting, where he was less covered from the elements and at times had to battle with the wind to keep the paper from moving.

During his visit to the Falkland Islands, he had three days to explore and paint the animals and landscape around him, a particularly productive time with the large amount of penguins around him. Darren spent his days painting Magellanic Penguins, Rockhopper Penguins and on his third day got to spend three hours with the King Penguins – a lifetime’s ambition. During the time he had with the King Penguins at Volunteer Point he shot videos and took pictures that would later be used alongside his sketches and field paintings to help him create his work ‘King Colony’.

Darren Rees, Magellanic Penguins

After departing the Falkland Islands Darren painted from the ship and he was able to sketch albatrosses and icebergs, which he described as “huge great big cathedrals in the sea”, drawing and painting quickly as they passed by.

Whilst visiting Port Lockroy, a former UK research and weather station, Darren sketched Gentoo Penguins in their natural habitat at close range.

Darren at Port Lockroy

Darren visited Rothera Base on Adelaide Island where he spent three days, allowing him to see some of the marine biological tests carried out on some species to see how they would react to warmer waters. Darren also managed to paint huge elephant seals from around 30 feet away that were at the base at the time.

Rothera Base also provided Darren his first opportunity to paint icebergs from land, giving him plenty of time to draw and go into more detail than he had whilst sketching from the ship. He described being on the island from an artist’s perception as causing “information overload” as there was so much to take in whilst being there.

Darren Rees, Sleeping Elephants

From Rothera Base Darren then travelled north through the Gullet, a very narrow passageway that could ice over. Before heading down some planes went to check if the ship could pass through. Unfortunately there was not a lot of wildlife whilst passing through the Gullet.

Further North the journey was not as comfortable but he did get to see more birds as they headed to Brazil. Towards the end of the trip he held a mobile art show for the crew of the ship, and before leaving he gave them a few paintings of them which he had painted.

Darren Rees, Parked Bergs

Painting in the Antarctic Peninsula is a different environment to what Darren is used to. It was cold as expected but Darren was well prepared with insulated clothing and he is used to painting with gloves. He had to use the sheltered and heated crow’s nest so whilst on board the ship he managed well. On land, on one occasion his paints started to freeze so he added a small amount of white spirit to the water. He said that it “seemed to work!”

Image credit

The Prize Winners for the Natural Eye 2015 were announced at the Private View on Wednesday 28 October to a packed Mall Galleries.

The journalist and author Simon Barnes opened the exhibition and said that "Wildlife is the most wonderful stuff we’ve got on this planet, and here, in room after room, we have a celebration of it. As ever, this exhibition is all about different ways of loving the wild world."

In her President's Foreword Harriet Mead writes that "...the variety of approaches, techniques and skills on display are alwasy an inspiration and makes me very proud of the Society."

Below are the Prize Winning works from this year's Natural Eye exhibition.